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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. charge — a price
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fork — in a road
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. field — a subject
  13. race — a contest
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. race — humankind
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cold — an illness
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — to breed
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com